A Tale of Horror
by Tot
Summary: The Coji mansion is haunted, but what does the Ghost want with Ryo? **COMPLETED**
1. A Tale of Horror ~1~

A Tale of Horror  
  
Chapter 1  
  
By Amazon  
  
"Don't ever let anyone tell you what you don't know can't hurt you…"  
  
-Amazon  
  
Warning: Do not read this whole story at night. For those of you who have problems with blood and ghosts, I seriously recommend you do not read this story.  
  
"Wakey, Rowen."  
  
"No, go 'way." Rowen batted at the air. He didn't want to get up just yet. "Lemme 'leep some more.  
  
"Ya know, every morning we do this." Ryo grabbed the comforter. "And every morning you get a cold shower, haven't you learned by now?"  
  
"Just go away." Came the muffled reply. Ryo shook his head and yanked the comforter back.  
  
"You asked for it." Ryo grabbed Rowen's ankles and pulled him off the bed.  
  
"Wha- What are you doing?! Ittai! That hurt!" Rowen rubbed his head where it had collided with the floor and struggled at the same time but Ryo had an iron grip on his ankles.  
  
"Making sure you stay awake." Ryo somehow opened the door without losing his grip on Rowen's ankles. Rowens eyes widened as he saw that the shower was already on.  
  
"No! I'm up! I'm up!" Rowen shouted as he grabbed the doorframe of the door.  
  
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure."  
  
"Good." Ryo turned off the shower. "Now get dressed. I'll be waiting outside the door in case you decide to sleep again."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Aw, shoot. We don't get to hear blue-boy scream this morning." Kento teased as Ryo and Rowen came downstairs. Rowen glared at the Chinese boy.  
  
"What's for breakfast, Cye?" Ryo asked as he pulled his chair out to sit down.  
  
"Biscuits, eggs and ham. At least when I find the carving knife we will." Cye said from the kitchen.  
  
Ryo began to sit down but stopped. A knife sat in the seat of the chair, it's blade gleaming dangerously. Puzzlement swept across Ryo's face as he picked it up. What was the carving knife doing in his chair? He shook his head and went into the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, Cye?"  
  
Cye looked up from where he was going through the cabinets. "Hai?"  
  
"Found your knife." Ryo handed the knife to him handle first.  
  
"Arigato. Where'd you find it?" Cye asked as he took the knife from Ryo.  
  
"In my seat." Ryo shrugged. "You must have taken it with you when you put the plates out."  
  
Cye put the knife down on the counter and checked the biscuits in the oven. "No I didn't. I put it right where it is now and I checked on the eggs and when I looked back. It was gone." Cye shook his head. "Don't worry about it." It seemed Cye was also saying that to himself.  
  
Disappearing knives? What's next? A three-ring circus? Ryo thought as he left the kitchen and sat down at the table. Rowen and Kento were bickering again and Sage was watching them. Cye came out soon; arms loaded with the morning's breakfast.  
  
"Yeah! Food!" Kento cheered.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ryo flipped through the channels lazily. Great. Three hundred channels and absolutely nothing on. It was true. They had just saved up the money needed to buy a new satellite system and now there was nothing on but cats and mice sticking dynamite up each other's butts. He finally turned it back to BBCJ (British Broadcasting Corporation of Japan) and watched some Star Trek spin off.  
  
Upstairs, he heard Cye and Kento racing around in Kento's video game. "Aw no! Ya killed me! How?" Kento muffled query echoed down the quiet house. Sage was, as usual, reading in his room, accompanied by Rowen, who was testing out his telescope. Ryo grabbed the soccer ball near by and started to bounce it on his knee as he watched the TV. Just as it was above his chest something hit the ball with a ssssshhh sound. Perplexed, he turned the ball over and saw Cye's knife protruding out of the side. Where did THAT come from? He asked and scanned the living room lightly. The only thing separating the kitchen from the living room was a swinging door, and that remained closed.  
  
Without warning the lamp nearby crashed to the floor. He whipped around, finding the porcelain lamp shattered on the floor. Oh man, Sage's gonna kill me! That was his father's lamp. Noting the area the pieces were scattered by, it looked as if it had been hurled at someone and fallen short. What is going on?! He thought aloud.  
  
"Ryo! What was that?" Rowen's muffled voice called from upstairs.  
  
"What's wrong?" Cye joined in as the remaining boys filed down the stairs to make sure everything was okay. Sage saw the glass on the floor and the knife in the soccer ball.  
  
"Everything okay Ryo?" he asked, somewhat shaken.  
  
"No, I don't know what's going on around here. Oh, Sage, somehow your dad's lamp got broken."  
  
That's what the glass was! "Nani!? Which one?"  
  
"This one," Ryo held up a larger portion of the debris.  
  
"Oh, dad's gonna skin me alive! What happened?"  
  
Ryo repeated the strange events.  
  
"Weird." Rowen muttered.  
  
"Yeah, no kidding." Kento added. 


	2. A Tale of Horror ~2~

A Tale of Horror  
  
Chapter 2  
  
By Amazon  
  
"There is nothing to fear but fear itself."  
  
- Franklin D. Roosevelt  
  
"Is everything cleaned up?" Ryo asked. Sage nodded; he was going to pay dearly for his dad's lamp. Not only was it only his great-grandmother's but also an antique. Cye held the now-deflated soccer ball in his hands; the knife lay on the table.  
  
The cut in the soccer ball was not so large but the depth that the knife had been driven to was incredible. The carving knife had been up to its handle in the ball. Ryo could have been killed.  
  
"Who would want to kill Ryo?" Rowen asked, voicing the question on everybody's minds.  
  
"The Dynasty." Kento said simply.  
  
"No." Sage interjected before Rowen could say anything. "This isn't their style, besides Talpa's dead and his Warlords 'have seen the light'."  
  
"So? It was just a suggestion." Kento grumped.  
  
"A new evil?" Cye asked from where he was sitting.  
  
"I haven't sensed anything like that." Sage answered.  
  
"Wait," Rowen looked at Ryo. "Did anything in the room change when the knife punctured the soccer ball?"  
  
Ryo tried to remember anything that had changed. "No, not really. I was watching TV when it happened. Wait, the room did get a bit chilly but- why?"  
  
"If I am right, and I know I probably am, I think it's a ghost."  
  
"Have you been into the Pixie Stixs again?" Kento asked.  
  
Rowen shook his head. "They're called poltergeists. Whenever a ghost or poltergeist enters a room, the temperature drops incredibly. They also tend to throw things around when they get angry. I think that we might have one living in this house with us."  
  
"That's ridiculous." Kento commented. "This place isn't haunted."  
  
"We've never asked Mia about the history of this place." Cye piped up.  
  
"You might never know. There have been cases of supernatural phenomenon in old buildings or in buildings that have been built over sites that have been haunted." Rowen pointed out. "All we have to do is ask Mia."  
  
"Uh, she's in Tokyo remember?" Sage said.  
  
"We can call her." Rowen shrugged.  
  
"Rowen. There…is…no…such…thing…as…ghosts." Kento said slowly and enunciating every word.  
  
As if to protest the room became freezing. So cold the Ronins could see their breaths and the water in the vases froze instantly, cracking the vases. The objects in the room started to shake. The carving knife that sat on the end table was picked up into the air and launched at Ryo. Ryo hit the floor.  
  
The knife embedded itself into the wall. All the Ronins stared at the knife in shock. The coldness suddenly lifted from the room, becoming warm again.  
  
"Does that settle any doubts you have Kento?" Rowen asked, a tad smugly.  
  
Kento nodded, his jaw on the floor. You better believe that he believed now.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Ryo examined the knife, where it was stuck in the wall. It was embedded pretty well in the wall. Whatever had thrown it was very strong. I don't understand, he thought to himself. Why would anyone want to kill me? Maybe Rowen's wrong; maybe it IS the dynasty. But wouldn't Sage have picked anything up? And surely Kayura and the others would have told us. It just doesn't make any sense…  
  
Ryo, a bit shaken by the day's strange events, decided to go to bed early. But every once in a while, a sensation that caused the hair on his neck to raise, passed by, like a breezy touch. Shaking it off as his own imagination, he retired to his room. He shivered a bit as he undressed and sincerely hoped that Rowen was wrong. The bed creaked underneath him, and for once he jumped. What am I doing? He mused. A ronin warrior scared of his own bed?  
  
Flopping over to his side he sighed and closed his eyes.  
  
Ten minutes later he turned on his back and tried again. Still sleep refused to come. Growling at his vexation, Ryo punched his pillow a bit and forced his eyes shut.  
  
And right back open when he heard the voice. He couldn't make out what it was saying, just a soft woman's low fluxation in her voice. He stared around the room, and a flicker of white caught his eye in the hallway. Perplexed, he started out of bed and stared down into the living room. The guys were watching some flick on TV and seemed completely oblivious.  
  
There, it was that noise again. This time it sounded like a cry. Ryo turned and caught the backside of what appeared to be a ghost disappearing through the wall. It was only a second, but enough time to see the ethereal being's delicate layered kimono and long, black hair.  
  
"It's just my imagination playing tricks," he said aloud, smirking at his own pounding heart. He stumbled back to his room and drifted into a peaceful, but disturbed sleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
He was falling, falling into a void of darkness. The darkness clawed at his body, ripping at his flesh, leaving streams of blood running down his body. He fought back with all his strength but with no avail. His hands passed through the darkness as it tried to overtake him.  
  
Then…it was gone. Silver light flooded his vision and made him squint. Blood still ran down his body, but it was touched by the silver light and sparkled. It was if his blood was not really red but liquid silver. Ryo looked up at the sky above; it was nighttime for the stars were out.  
  
The silver light was really moonlight from the full moon that sat in the sky with the stars all around like courtiers to a noble. The moon winked down on a lake and rolling forest that looked familiar but he couldn't place it. There was the sound of a small animal moving through the underbrush of the forest, but he still jumped at the sound.  
  
He suddenly went very still as he felt something cold press into his back. It seemed to trace a symbol into his back with its sharp point very lightly. Then it withdrew. Ryo turned around very slowly. A katana floated in the air, level with his heart. Ryo's heart started to pound very fast as the sword drew back again, blade flashing in the moonlight.  
  
The sword disappeared into the forest's shadows as a blood-curdling scream broke the silence of the night. 


	3. A Tale of Horror ~3~

A Tale of Horror  
  
Chapter 3  
  
By Amazon  
  
"Nothing is so much to be feared as fear."  
  
Henry David Thoreau  
  
  
  
Ryo woke up with a start, a cold sweat drenching his sheets and slicking his skin. White Blaze lay, fast asleep, in the puddle of light that shone through the window. It was morning once again. I must have been more tired than I thought. But then again, staying up till four in the morning Sunday wasn't smart either. Ryo thought to himself.  
  
He stretched, hearing his joints pop and wincing as his back muscles protested. He scratched his back and stopped. He felt something but he didn't know what it was. He got up out of the bed and walked over to the mirror that hung above his low dresser and turned around, his head twisting back to look at the mirror.  
  
All color drained out of his face. There, scratched into his back, was the kanji for death. It stood out as a red against his skin. Ryo grabbed the edge of his dresser to steady himself. What was going on? First, he almost got killed twice, not counting the knife in his seat, and then he thought he saw a ghost and then he had that weird dream and now this.  
  
He shakily put on his pants and a clean shirt and went downstairs. It was quiet in the house, even though the sounds of a cartoon filtered out of the living room. When he entered the kitchen he found his four friends as white as sheets and staring at a wall.  
  
"What're you staring at?" Ryo asked Cye, puzzled.  
  
Cye pointed at the wall and Ryo looked. A message, written in scrawling, feminine hand was on the wall…in blood. Ryo read the message, his eyes widening.  
  
'Kiochi, I have waited for this day for an eternity. Your death will be at my hands. I will have my revenge!'  
  
"Maybe this would be a good time to tell you about last night," he said in a low voice. The heads of his friends turned to him, surprised.  
  
"What do you mean 'last night'? What happened?" Rowen demanded.  
  
Ryo began counting off his fingers. "First, there was all the weird stuff, like the knife in the ball. Then last night I was trying to go to sleep and got very cold. And then I heard a voice, very low and crying, and a-a girl. She was a very light blue, almost white, and passed through the wall. I just assumed it was my imagination, but then I had a dream last night…" Ryo went on to describe the dream in full detail and watched Cye's face drain of color. "And finally, I wake up this morning to find this…" He removed his shirt and turned around, hearing the frightened gasp that ran amongst his friends.  
  
Cye's face was devoid of all color, his lips white and drawn. "Ryo, last night I had a dream you were killed."  
  
Ryo was silent, trying to sort through the information. "I don't understand!" he finally cried. "What did I do?"  
  
Rowen was studying the writing on the wall. "I think we should call Mia about this Kiochi guy. In the meantime, Ryo, don't go ANYWHERE without one of us nearby."  
  
"Why?" he answered hesitantly.  
  
"Because from what I've heard, ghosts usually attack their victims when they're by themselves."  
  
"We can't be around him 24/7," Sage noted.  
  
"True," Rowen acknowledged. "But it'll be just like when Sarenbo-"  
  
"Sarenbo?" Kento asked quietly.  
  
Sage rolled his eyes. "One of the dynasty jerks after Ryo's armor, remember?"  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Tried to attack. We'll just try to protect him." Rowen finished. The other Ronins nodded.  
  
"I'll see if I can get this blood off the wall." Cye said quietly, still a little pale. He grabbed the washcloth from off the counter and started scrubbing at the wall. Sage pulled out a little black book out of his back pocket and flipped through it. Kento eyed the book.  
  
"Isn't that the book that you have all those girls numbers in?" He asked.  
  
Sage nodded and looked at Kento with suspicion in his eyes. "Why?"  
  
"No particular reason." Kento shrugged. He had been intent on finding the book for a while, at least until he got his girlfriend, Anne, a transfer student from the U.S.  
  
"Found Mia's number." Sage passed the little book to Rowen, who punched it into the phone. The phone rang two times before Mia picked up. He messed with the speakerphone, trying to get it to work so all of the five teenagers could talk with her.  
  
"Hello?" Came her voice from the other end of the line.  
  
"Konnichi wa, Mia. It's us, your fellow Ronins." Rowen greeted. "How's the seminar?"  
  
"It's going fine. There are some nice ancient samurai armors here." Mia's tone became worried. "What happened? Did any of you get hurt?"  
  
"Um…almost-"  
  
"Nani? What happened?" Mia asked frantically. Rowen finally got the speakerphone to work and all five teenagers heard her inquiring questions.  
  
"Mia, we're fine." Sage proclaimed.  
  
"Why did you call?" Mia asked.  
  
Everyone shot a glance at Ryo before Rowen asked. "Mia, is this house haunted?"  
  
There was a pause on the other end of the line, then she spoke again. "Well there is an old legend about a young woman who got killed by her betrothed. They say that she haunts this house."  
  
Kento hit the table with his head and groaned. Sage looked thoughtful as he twirled a lock of his gold hair around his finger. Ryo paled, he knew that it hadn't been a trick of the light, the recognition that it had been a real ghost almost scared him. Cye continued to scrub the wall, his face still pale.  
  
"Mia, do you know who this Kiochi is?" Rowen questioned, his voice shaking a little bit. He had believed that ghosts were real but having one in the same house as them was something he hadn't expected.  
  
"Hai, he was Kaoru's betrothed. He killed her in the middle of the night and ran off." She stopped. "Are you saying that this story is true, Rowen?"  
  
Rowen nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Yes, I am." There was an audible gasp from the other end of the line. "What was Kiochi's clans name?"  
  
The other four Ronins gave him a weird look but he waved it off. He waited for her response. "It was…I think it was Kawashima, Kawashima Kiochi."  
  
Rowen leaned against the wall, stroking his chin as if he had a beard. That was a dead end right there. But why would the ghost want to kill Ryo? He hadn't realized that he had said it outloud until Mia repeated what he said.  
  
"Ryo, are you okay?" Mia asked him, worry saturating her voice.  
  
"I'm fine Mia." Ryo said, exasperated.  
  
"Rowen, upstairs, in the Library there's a book. It's on the right wall and on the top shelf. It's Ghosts and Haunted Mansions of Japan. Get it." Rowen left the room.  
  
"Mia, this ghost. When was she killed?" Kento asked. Sage sent him an incredulous look. "I'm just curious."  
  
"She's about 500 years old, so it was in the Edo Period." Mia replied. Kento whistled in awe.  
  
"That's old."  
  
"Hai. Guys I need to go. I need to get to the museum. Ryo, be careful."  
  
"I will." Ryo promised.  
  
They said their good-byes and hung up. As soon as they hung up a scream echoed in the house. 


	4. A Tale of Horror ~4~

A Tale of Horror  
  
Chapter Four  
  
By Amazon  
  
All five Ronins rushed upstairs as another scream pierced the air, this time a female's scream. In the library, stood Rowen, with books flying around him. His face was pale and his mouth hung open.  
  
"Um…are books supposed to fly?" Kento asked, watching the books swirl around Rowen. Sage hit him over the back of his head. "Ittai!"  
  
"No, you dolt!" Sage said.  
  
Cye ducked down as an ancient history book threatened to beat him.  
  
This isn't happening, Ryo tried to think as the pages and books swirled around, and a scream cried from every corner. Ryo backed away, frightened, a cold sweat pouring down him. A samurai armor that rested in a case suddenly creaked to life and punched through the case, though not making an audible sound through the whirlwind going on in the library. It headed straight for his friends.  
  
"Sage! Rowen! Look out!" His friends whipped around soon enough to dodge out of the way, though Sage's arm was grazed.  
  
"Ahhh!" He cried and cradled his hand.  
  
"Armor of Strata, Dao Inochi!" Rowen called. Sage echoed his cry with his own call to arms. Soon the two were engaged in a battle with the antique.  
  
Another possessed book flew at him, and Ryo blocked it with his bare hands. Suddenly he saw her. A pale, ethereal figure floating just before him, her dark eyes sorrowful yet burning with anger. She was in a traditional kimono, fitting for one of her…age. Ryo felt his breath freeze within him. No, this isn't real, but it is. Her delicate hands reached out, pulling a small dagger from her side. "Now, Kiochi, you are mine." She said vengefully.  
  
"No! I'm not Kiochi! My name is Ryo!"  
  
"You cannot escape me, Kiochi!" she cried and lunged at him.  
  
"Ryo!" Kento screamed.  
  
Suddenly the girl disappeared. All the books dropped to the floor along with the suit of armor. Each of the five boys gasped for breath, the warmth of the room returning and chasing away the cold. Sage and Rowen armored down to their civvies.  
  
Ryo stood, shaking, staring at the spot where the ghost had been standing. He was starting to get really scared; the ghost was really out to get him, even though he wasn't this Kiochi guy. He became aware that Cye was standing next to him. Cye rubbed his shoulder in a friendly manner.  
  
Rowen shuffled through the books that lay on the floor. He held up a hardcover book that had a glossy cover with an old mansion on the front. The title was written in a type of font that made it 'drip' down the front, it read Ghosts and Huanted Mansions of Japan. He waded through the books, promising to himself that he would put them away later, this was much more important.  
  
"Let's go downstairs, this place gives me the creeps now." Kento suggested, shivering. The rest of the group agreed with him.  
  
Once they were down in the living room, with all the lights on (it made them feel more comfortable and safe…), Rowen started reading the excerpt that he found on the Coji Mansion and her famous ghost.  
  
" 'The Coji Mansion has earned its reputation for ghosts over the centuries. This is mainly owed to the ghost that haunts the grounds around the mansion and the mansion itself. The ghost is a woman, barely older than fourteen, from the Edo Period. She was the daughter of a provincial lord that ruled the land that is now the bustling city of Toyama. Her name is Himura Kaoru, of the clan Himura.'" Rowen paused to get his breath and wet his mouth.  
  
" 'Her story is a tragic one, an almost fairy tale. Her betrothed, a man of a Samurai clan, was Kawashima Kiochi. Unfortunately, their marriage was never to be, Kiochi was in love with another woman. To be with his love he would have to end the betrothal somehow. Lord Shiga refused to break the intended marriage. Kiochi murdered Kaoru in the middle of the night, somehow not alerting the guards to his presence.'" Rowen stopped again, aware that the other four teenagers were leaning forward slightly, waiting for him to continue.  
  
" 'The day that she was buried a servant said that he saw the young woman walking down a corridor of the estate. The servant was dismissed as crazy until several young Samurai guards turned up missing and then found dead. A medium was brought into the house. Indeed there was a ghost haunting the site. 'A young woman, with long black hair and black eyes filled with sorrow and hatred, her kimono is stained with spilled blood.' The medium told Lord Shiga.'" Rowen stopped as the room became freezing. The other Ronins shivered, not only from the cold but also from what they knew were causing it.  
  
Rowen took a deep breath and continued to read. " 'The priests that came to exorcise her could not force Kaoru out of her home. After Lord Shiga passed away with no heir to the land and estate, no one dared enter the house at night or live there. Many brave men would go in at night to prove to themselves and to the people around them that she was just a legend. They never returned in the morning.'" The objects in the room started to shake. The shaking became more intense as Rowen continued to read. The other Ronins glanced nervously around the room.  
  
" 'Some 70 years after Lord Shiga's death the estate was burned down. The cause for the fire is unknown though it is said that Lord Shiga himself returned from the grave to put his daughter to rest. Kaoru was never seen again except on days when the moon was full. She became nothing more than a legend after the estate was burned down. In the Meiji Period, the Coji clan bought the property against everyone's good judgement. They built a house on the sprawling estate that has been added onto over the years.'" Rowen stopped. All five of the teenagers looked at the ceiling. There was a rushing sound from the pipes that were in the walls and then silence, all the objects in the room stopped shaking but the cold didn't go away, it just intensified.  
  
There were several explosions before the wall burst open, water spraying everywhere. The flying droplets froze in mid-air, landing on the floor as ice, giving the floor a red sheen. Ryo did a double take. That wasn't water! That was blood! He raised his hands to protect his face from the ice projectiles. The others ducked behind their seats to avoid getting hit.  
  
Ryo jumped back behind the couch, joining Cye and Kento. Their faces were pale and drawn tight. Rowen continued to read from the book, voice shaking as bad as his hands were.  
  
" 'When the Coji family moved into their new home the she-ghost left them alone, until a close friend of the family moved in with them. He was found dead in the morning.'" Rowen slammed the book shut. "Guys, I think we should get out of here."  
  
"Oh, what made you think that?" Kento shot from where he was crouching behind the couch.  
  
Rowen glared at him. "Let's go!" Rowen sprinted from his cover to the foyer where his keys were, holding the book over his head. Sage, Cye and Kento ran after him, the hard drops pelting them mercilessly. Ryo followed them. The young ghost woman materialized behind him, shimmering in her ethereal state.  
  
"I will have my revenge, Kiochi!" she screamed over the rushing sound. Ryo turned at the bloodcurdling sound, just to find a dagger suddenly scrape towards him. It grazed his forearm, and burned intensely.  
  
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!" he cried, and held his arm to stop the flow. Kento, who'd been last in line, ran back to get him and half dragged a very shaken Ryo to the door. The four ronins jumped in the car and tore away from the house like there was no tomorrow. For Ryo, he wasn't sure if there would be.  
  
"Uh, Ro, where are we going?" Sage asked, struggling to pull himself from the back of his seat the Gs were so strong.  
  
"I dunno, but we aren't staying home tonight, that's all there is to it. No one's gonna kill Ryo as long as I'm around."  
  
"Is that why all this is happening?" Cye queried. "but, why Ryo?"  
  
On a hunch, Sage grabbed the fallen book Rowen had earlier. He flipped to the page about the Coji mansion. Just as he expected, there was an old painting of Kiochi. The pallor drained from his snow-colored skin.  
  
"Sage? You're as white as…well, a ghost," Kento said suddenly. Sage showed him the picture; and Cye leaned over as well.  
  
"What?" Ryo asked, not wanting to be left out. Sage leaned forward again and flashed the photo at Rowen, who inhaled sharply.  
  
"R-ryo," he began. "You're SURE that you're a Sanada?"  
  
"Of course I am!" Ryo answered. "Lemme-" suddenly he saw the picture and felt his tiger blue eyes go wide with horror. Staring back at him was almost an identical image of himself, only in a kimono. 


	5. A Tale of Horror ~5~

A Tale of Horror  
  
Chapter 5  
  
By Amazon  
  
  
  
Rowen pulled into the parking lot of the City Park and leaned back into his seat. On the way there, with the help of the picture, it had all fallen into place. Kaoru wasn't hunting down Ryo because she was related to him, (they were complete strangers in fact, each being centuries apart in age and nowhere nearly blood related) it was because he was a carbon copy of Kiochi. "Guys?"  
  
Four heads looked at Rowen. They had all been thinking about the picture and the events of the past day.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I think, in fact I know, why Kaoru wants to kill Ryo." Rowen half turned in his seat so that he could see his friends' faces. Ryo was still recovering from seeing the picture and was a pasty white. He picked up the book and found the picture again. "This is why." He tapped the page.  
  
"Not followin' you, dude." Kento said.  
  
Rowen sighed. "She wants to kill him because he looks exactly like Kiochi, to put it simply, she thinks that Ryo is Kiochi."  
  
"And she wants her revenge." Cye finished quietly. Rowen nodded.  
  
"Can't we just fry her with our armors?" Kento asked.  
  
"Look, Kento, this isn't a Dynasty freak this is a centuries old ghost. I don't think that our armors would work." Sage answered him before Rowen was able to.  
  
Kento growled. "Then what do we do to get rid of her?"  
  
Ryo looked up from where he was nursing his wound. "Why don't we just tell her that I'm not Kiochi?"  
  
"I don't think it would work Ryo." Rowen shook his head. "She thinks that you are Kiochi and she won't stop unless you're dead."  
  
"It would be worth a try though." Cye spoke up again.  
  
Rowen sighed and fiddled with his forelock of hair as he thought. He heaved another sigh. "Maybe…but if she tries to kill Ryo again, we're getting out of there."  
  
Cye nodded and went back to chewing on his lip. Rowen put the jeep into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. He wasn't so sure about what they were going to do but maybe it would work like Cye said.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The first thing the guys noticed when they stepped into their home was the fact that it was very chilly. This wasn't a chill that you would get in the fall but a hair-raising, Goosebumps chill that you would get from watching a horror movie times ten. The Ronins rubbed their hands together and pulled their light jackets tighter around them.  
  
"Hey, maybe she just wants to usher in winter early." Kento joked lightly, teeth chattering.  
  
"Hahaha…that was so funny I forgot to laugh." Sage shot at the Chinese boy, teeth chattering as well. Kento glared back.  
  
"Okay guys, let's see if we can persuade her to stop this." Rowen ordered, involuntarily taking the leader position in the group. He did that sometimes.  
  
The guys nodded and moved into the living room. The frozen droplets of blood were still there and they sent a tingle down the Ronins back. They could feel someone watching them and they had a pretty good idea who it was.  
  
Ryo noticed, with much displeasure, that some of the blood had froze on the pipes and glistened, it felt like they were laughing at him. Like they were laughing and pointing and saying 'Look at him, the little human, he's about to get killed by a ghost! Haha!' He shivered and turned his attention back to the rest of the room.  
  
The couch looked like it had been picked up and hurled across the room, to where it lay now against the far side of the room. The coffee table had also been thrown across the room. And several of the vases in the room were cracked and the water they held was frozen. The flowers were also frozen in their perfection and held a thin layer of ice that sparkled in the light that came through the window.  
  
"Geez, talk about a temper tantrum." Kento said as he inspected the coffee table. Cye nodded in agreement. He could feel something breathing down his neck but when he looked there was nothing there. But that didn't mean that something wasn't there.  
  
Then the temperature dropped even lower (if that was even possible) heralding the arrival of Kaoru. All five Ronins took a step back. She appeared, wreathed in her white and bloodstained kimono's, dagger gleaming in her hand. Her black hair was wild and her black eyes flashed angrily and the essences of sorrow that had been there were no longer there. Her eyes bored into Ryo's, locking him there before she let out a screech of rage.  
  
"I will get you this time Kiochi! You will run no longer!" She screamed as she launched herself at him, dagger aiming straight for his heart. He was fast enough to dodge her and he thanked all his battles for sharpening his reflexes.  
  
Ryo swiped at her with a fist, forgetting for a moment that she was a ghost. When his hand went through her it felt like all his insides had been frozen and his breath caught in his throat for a second. Kaoru lunged at him again; not noticing the fact that Ryo's hand had passed through her.  
  
"Die!" Kaoru screeched as she lunged toward Ryo.  
  
"Stop!" Ryo shouted as he dodged her again. "I'm not Kiochi!"  
  
"You cannot lie to me! You lied to me once and I believed you, this time I see the truth!" Kaoru brandished her dagger wildly.  
  
"I'm not Kiochi! My names Ryo!"  
  
Kaoru regarded him with coal black eyes. "You are Kiochi. I will not fall for your lies again." She did not lunge at him but continued to watch him with piercing eyes.  
  
The other Ronins started to move forward but were stopped by Ryo. Kaoru watched them and let out a cat-like hiss.  
  
"I fell for your lies once, your lies of love and forever, but now," Kaoru smiled an icy smile and it froze Ryo to his very core. "I see the truth. The truth was that you never loved me! You loved her."  
  
"No I didn't." 


	6. A Tale of Horror ~6~

A Tale of Horror  
  
Chapter 6  
  
By Amazon  
  
"Our destiny is fueled by our dreams…  
  
our dreams are fueled by our love of our destiny."  
  
-Amazon  
  
All heads turned to look at the man that stood in the doorway. He stood a couple of inches taller than Ryo. His black hair swirled in an unfelt breeze and his tiger blue eyes stared into Kaoru's black eyes. He wore Samurai fuku and a sword was strapped at his waist. He could be no other than Kawashima Kiochi. Kaoru audibly gasped.  
  
"I did not love her." Kiochi repeated.  
  
Kaoru looked at him with hatred in her eyes. Ryo was completely forgotten. "You said you loved her! I heard you speak those words!"  
  
"I was wrong. And foolish." Kiochi spoke in a low tenor.  
  
"Do you expect me to believe you?! After all those lies you told me?!" Kaoru screeched.  
  
"Well, yes. I took you for granted and when something better came along...I wanted out of our betrothal."  
  
"SO YOU MURDERED ME?! I WANT MY REVENGE!"  
  
"You've had it. She died very early. I killed myself in grief. I'd lost you forever and it was my own stupid fault."  
  
"No! I don't believe you!" Kaoru spun around and lunged at Ryo, knife flashing but Kiochi moved in her way and stopped her. Her eyes flashed in anger at that. Ryo sank to his knees, relieved that Kiochi had stopped the blade.  
  
"Leave this boy alone. He is not a part of this struggle, but a much greater one. It is his destiny to live."  
  
"And it is your destiny to die!" Kaoru struck Kiochi in the chest, even though it went right through him. Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. "I have it. I  
  
have my-my revenge...."  
  
The Ronins watched as Kaoru slowly faded from their view. When she looked at them her eyes were moist and an actual smile graced her lips. Kiochi remained behind, a smile also twisting his lips. He turned to Ronins.  
  
"Gomen nasai for all the trouble she's caused. She is finely at rest and she will not bother you anymore." Kiochi apologized, bowing deeply.  
  
"Umm…that's okay." Ryo said. It felt like the only thing to say at the time.  
  
"Sleep well, warriors. We will watch over you." Kiochi bowed again and disappeared. The ice evaporated and the coldness lifted itself off the room. The five young men looked at each other with almost identical looks on their faces.  
  
"So…I guess we should call Mia and tell her we got rid of the ghost." Rowen suggested. White Blaze came into the room at that time and went over to Ryo, rubbing his head against his hip.  
  
"Hey, boy, where have you been?" Ryo asked the large white tiger as he scratched him behind the ears. The tiger purred and gave him a mirthful look. He shook his head and went over to help the guys place the couch and table where they had been before. No words were exchanged until they were done.  
  
"Ya know, she was cute." Sage said, grinning devilishly. The other guys couldn't help but smile at the comment and roll their eyes.  
  
"She is way out of your league, Sage." Rowen patted his best friend on the back. Sage assumed a downcast look and everybody laughed, even Sage. "Maybe in a couple hundred years, buddy."  
  
"Well, at least everything's back to normal," Cye paused. "Or as normal as normal gets around here."  
  
Ryo smiled and patted White Blaze again. "Hai, it is. C'mon guys let's call Mia and then get some dinner."  
  
"Yea!" Kento cheered and raced out of the room with the others right behind him, shouting threats at the Chinese boy.  
  
Ryo let out a soft laugh and started to walk out of the room. He got the feeling that someone was behind him, he stopped and looked. Someone was. It was Kaoru. She wore a clean white, layered kimono that reminded him of Kayura's and her hair was done in a way that made it look like a fan of black silk was tied to the back of her head. Her red painted lips were in a friendly smile. She waved at him. He waved back.  
  
"Thank you." She turned and walked through the wall that separated the living room from the office on that floor.  
  
White Blaze whined and pushed against Ryo's hip, pushing him toward the door. Ryo let the tiger push him out of the room and into the kitchen where the guys were getting dinner. Everything was going to be fine again. And he was grateful even though he came out with a few more scars than he wanted.  
  
The End  
  
Amazon note: I would like to thank my best bud Riana for helping me with my story, without her it would never have been possible for me to end it. So, please send your comments on the story to her as well at: ashley_m@mail.ev1.net. All comments and flames are welcome, though flames will not be responded to. Doumo arigato for reading my story. May all you fanfic writers out there have happy writings! 


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